A Cut and a Chunk Here

And so, the beat goes on...  Have I mentioned that I've had more Mohs done?  Yeah, it's a blast, seriously.  Mohs in general really isn't that big of a deal but when you're in the "blooming" phase, as my doctor recently put it, it simply gets very old quickly.  I'm now approaching procedure number 12 and from the looks of my scalp, I believe I'll have at least 2-3 more to add to it afterward.  I keep telling her, "...but I don't want to bloom!  I don't want to bloom!"  I'm not sure who's watering the seeds but I wish they'd stop already.

I've always been a very careful person and I've rarely had any accidents, falls, major cuts, no operations up until about 4 years ago, etc.  Well, at this age I seem to be making up for lost time.  I've lost count of the number of scars I have, especially on my head and facial area, and now I even have one on my left forearm.

So, this latest one is considered an "excision" rather than Mohs.  What's the difference?  Well, from what I can tell, it's simply that they cut, dig, and sew up right away, whereas with Mohs they cut, dig, and then study under the microscope.  If you're lucky, they then sew; if you're unlucky, you start over and do it again, kind of like some weird boardgame where you keep getting put back to the "go" square.  The bottom line is that one you're out in about 35 minutes while the other is 2-5 hours, depending upon how many times you go back to the "go" square".  Sounds great, right?  And you thought Monopoly was tedious.

Strangely, this excision on my arm is very itchy.  In fact, it's been nearly impossible to not scratch it, although it's the area around the excision that itches, and that's mainly because once you've been cut in this manner you more or less lose all feeling in that exact area, at least for a while.  It's a strange thing having all these little patches with no feeling.  I also have noticed a large amount of orange bruising on my arm which caught me slightly off guard.  Other than that, it's been pretty easy and straight forward, and I will honestly say that it's way easier addressing wounds that you can see right in front of you versus something on the back of your head.  You have to get pretty good with a mirror to slather antiseptic from a cotton swap while looking in a mirror at the back of your head, that is if you don't want to slather it accidentally on your ear my mistake (unless that's the intended target, of course).

All of this is going on while I still have a healing Mohs spot on the back of my head.  I don't know why but the ones on the back of my head heal much worse than the front.  My skin is fairly sensitive so I tend to get mild eczema break outs around the stitches...it's all fairly annoying.

I will say that I'm now getting to know the other "regulars" at the derm office, often chatting with them in the hallway, comparing notes, and so on.  I recently chatted with someone who readily admitted he's a nudist...yeah, you do the math on that one.  Honestly, I don't even want to think about getting these sorts of cuts down...well, there.  Geez.  He showed me one of his scars but luckily not one in that area.

Ah, life...  As they say, it beats the alternative!